Ankara [Turkiye], October 24 : At least five people have been killed and 22 others were injured in an attack on the headquarters of Turkiye's aerospace and defence company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) near Ankara on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported citing Turkiye's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
In a post on X, Ali Yerlikaya stated, "Two terrorists were neutralised" in the incident. He stated, "Sadly, we have 5 martyrs and 22 wounded in the attack. Three of the injured were already discharged from hospital, 19 of them under treatment."
At the time of the attack, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was holding talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Erdogan condemned what he termed a "heinous terrorist attack," Al Jazeera reported.
Footage from the site of the incident broadcast by local media just after the attack that took place at 3:30 pm (local time) showed huge clouds of smoke and a large fire raging at the site in Kahramankazan.
A loud explosion occurred at the site and there was subsequent gunfire, according to local media reports. Security camera images from the attack shown by broadcasters showed a man carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle. The pictures also seemed to show a woman carrying a weapon.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Turkiye's Justice Minister said that a probe has been initiated. Yerlikaya stressed that the attack was "probably linked" to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been involved in a decades-long insurgency against the government, according to Al Jazeera report.
Yerlikaya said, "The identification process and the search for fingerprints are continuing and we will say which terrorist organisation was behind the attack," adding that "the way in which this action was carried out is very probably linked to the PKK."
Earlier this week, the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader, who belongs to Erdogan's ruling coalition, invited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to address parliament to announce his movement's dissolution, Al Jazeera reported.
Turkish lawmakers and world leaders have condemned the attack. At the start of his meeting with Erdogan in Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, Putin offered his "condolences in connection with the terror attack."
North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) Secretary-General Mark Rutte offered support to Turkiye. In a post on X, Rutte wrote, "Deeply concerning reports of dead and wounded in Ankara. #NATO stands with our Ally #Turkey. We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and are monitoring developments closely."
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